


thick skin and an elastic heart

by leopxld_fitz



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: M/M, Patrick loves David, but really just fluff, shall he list the ways, sort of character introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:40:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24532447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leopxld_fitz/pseuds/leopxld_fitz
Summary: Patrick Brewer and David Rose may not make sense at first glance. But to Patrick, there's a thousand reasons that they fit perfectly together.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 12
Kudos: 178





	thick skin and an elastic heart

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all. While the world rises up against police brutality, I want to use what little platform I have here to encourage you to rise up with them. LGBTQ+ rights would be nowhere without our queer, black brothers and sisters, and it's everyone's duty to continue to donate, protest, petition, and share resources against injustice. Black lives matter, and they always have. If you need resources on how to fight, please feel free to contact me on Tumblr @leopxld_fitz. Against the backdrop of this, I hope this fic does something small to lift anyone's spirits. It's un-beta'd, so I bear the brunt of any mistakes. Take care of each other.

He thinks sometimes that, from the outside, it must not make sense. He and David don’t exactly match. David’s bold, and loud, and emotional, and he tends to…not be those things. Not on the surface, anyway. He knows, he’s sure, that when they go out to places that aren’t in town, and people see their wedding rings, they may even go so far as to assume that they’re married to different people, and not very happily committed to each other. 

Even to people that know them, on paper it may not add up. David can be demanding. Cynical. Verging dangerously on narcissistic. He doesn’t see the world the way ‘normal’ people do, nor does he have ‘normal’ expectations of it or the people around him. He’s a lot - a term he would never say out loud, because he knows how it’s been weaponized against David in the past. But Patrick understands why. He figures if he grew up surrounded by wealth with a  _ soap opera star _ for a mother and a socialite for a sister and a CEO for a father, none of whom ever seemed to be around, he might be a lot, too.

He would never tell him this, but he spent a lot of time in the early days trying to figure out just what went on inside of David’s head. From the moment they met, he was a mystery that Patrick couldn’t wait to solve, that Patrick mulled over in his free time, that Patrick would watch from across the store. Mostly because he’d never met anyone like him, but also because it seemed like there was…more. He didn’t know if he believed the presentation, the masquerade that this was all there was to David Rose, take it or leave it. And the more Patrick studies David - and yes, okay, maybe develops a crush - the more he’s convinced he’s right. This is all a part of David, for sure. The clothes, the condescension, the steadfast avoidance of sincerity. But that’s not where he stops.

And the more Patrick learns about just how alone David grew up, the more empathy he has. Of course he’s this way. This man is the byproduct of a childhood that he had to survive alone. He had everything a child could want and no one to share it with. Was it really such a surprise that he seemed to have created his own version of the world and stayed there firmly for the next thirty-[redacted] years? He got attention through dramatics, not vulnerability. This wasn’t a bad person. This was probably a person who needed even more therapy than he claims to have already gone to, but this wasn’t a bad person. 

David’s a puzzle. A challenge. And he always has been too competitive for his own good. 

The more he gets to know David, the more he sees the heart underneath the graphic sweater. One that bleeds more than it should, and feels passionately about things, and cares for the people he loves. He does it in his own way, he does it in ways that make it seem like he doesn’t want anyone to notice, but it’s there. The things that hurt are the things he laughs off. The things he cares about are the ones he speaks casually of (try unpacking the fact that your business partner will cry over Mariah Carey’s discography on an ordinary Wednesday but will, if confronted, pretend like he doesn’t care if your business fails). The people he loves are the ones he torments the most, holds the closest. He’s seen him try to micromanage every hurt out of his sister’s or mother’s lives. It didn’t take long for Patrick to be able to tell that David was not his own façade, gilded and extravagant though it may be.

And yes, David’s a pain in the ass, but he’s a pain in the ass that Patrick has claimed, thoroughly and unabashedly and without hesitation, as his. The things he liked about David couldn’t really be explained on paper, and he didn’t need them to. He’d never really considered himself a boring person. He thought he was actually pretty fun. He may be boring compared to the Roses, but he thinks that’s probably a good thing, given that one more Rose-sized ego would probably collapse the town. But he’s not boring compared to Stevie, or to Ted, or to Twyla. He’s a good time! He can sing, and play guitar, and he’s great at baseball, and he’s never had any trouble making friends. And yet, and _yet,_ there’s still this divide in his world. The grayscale that he came from and the technicolor that his world was painted with the second he met David. 

Not just in a this-is-my-gay-awakening way. In a way that enriched every second of his life. He had no idea how much fun he could be having. But life with David is just that. He has fun at work, and he has fun making dinner, and he has fun getting ready for bed. Road trips are fun, and waking up is fun (for him), and every mundane chore is fun. Even when they fight, and Patrick’s momentarily overwhelmed with just  _ how difficult _ David can be, he never imagines a life without him. Because sure, he could go out, find a…Ken or someone, and maybe lead a more normal, slightly less, at times, tumultuous life, but why would he want to do that? Why would he step away from this riot of color and light and volume in his life? He feels like a plant arching towards the sun some days. If he’s gotten burned once or twice, it’s an okay price to pay. Plus, the sun has shown a lot of emotional growth and maturity and has really worked on not doing that anymore, you know? And it’s not like his big shady leaves have never accidentally occluded the sun from view. This metaphor is getting out of hand. He’s getting ahead of himself. 

This is why he had to go on so many hikes when he was first developing feelings for David, and why he couldn’t write vows. When it comes to David, there’s too many words. They turn to mush in his head.

His point, he thinks, is that he hasn’t always been the best version of himself, either. But being with David has made him into someone he wants to be. David has made him not want to settle in his life. To take risks, to be brave, to seek that which makes him feel the most. To be calmer and steadier. To be exactly who he is and to be comfortable with the fact that he’s made mistakes. David makes him feel like maybe he deserves to be happy. And David makes him happy. So all he wants is to give that back to him. 

People warned him about David when they first went into business together. He remembers Twyla congratulating him the next day after the news had wafted through the town, and then following it up with, “That’s pretty brave.” 

He’d paused, tea lifted mostly to his mouth, a nervous smile tugging at the corners. “Uh. What do you mean?” 

“Oh,” Twyla says, face morphing out of it’s usual beam, looking like she hadn’t expected what she said not to land. “I mean, all of the Roses are great,” she amends, nodding. “Yeah, no, it’s just that…well don’t you think they can be a little…mean?” She sort of cringes on the last quiet word, the toll of saying something not nice about someone visible. 

Patrick considers, shrugging. “I…guess so. I haven’t really spent much time with them, I guess. They’re definitely loud, but -“

“Mrs. Rose and Alexis once both pelted me with things on the same day,” Twyla tells him. “Yeah, and you know, Mr. Rose never really leaves a tip. Which…” the smile is back and she tilts her head. “I guess could be my fault.” 

Now it’s Patrick’s turn to say, “Oh.” Which is what he finds himself saying a lot when he speaks to Twyla. “I’m sorry.” She doesn’t bring up David specifically, but Patrick thinks she’s probably got a story about him, too, and he may not want to hear it.

“It’s okay,” Twyla says with a wave of her hand, hugging her order pad closer to her. “I guess I’m just impressed, that’s all.”

It sounds like a compliment, but it doesn’t feel like one. And the comments don’t stop there. He gets input from seemingly every person in town, none of whom he asked. Everyone’s got a laugh, or something to say about David’s personality, or a  _ good luck _ that doesn’t sit well with him. Even Ray has a somewhat scathing remark about going into business with someone so “high maintenance,” delivered through a smile. 

But the thing is that Patrick doesn’t  _ get it. _ He just doesn’t. He understands how they feel, but every time he spends time with David, he doesn’t see how some people don’t see past that first layer. He thinks surely they must at least some, enough that they all seem to find it somewhat amusing, just another character in their vibrant town, but he doesn’t understand how people don’t feel…how when they look at him they…how if they speak to him they don’t…

Do they not love him?

Do they not see him?

As their relationship progresses into close friends, and then boyfriends, and then husbands, Patrick’s pleased again and again that he was right to follow his gut. Because under a steady stream of love and stability from their town and friends and families, David…he was going to say blooms, but he knows David would hate the Rose pun, so he’ll just say grows. David’s core becomes more apparent every day. The loud exterior of David will never change more than it has, Patrick knows. Most of what’s left is just part of who he is. But Patrick’s proud of how far he’s come. Some days, he may even deign to call him ‘nice.’ He’s proud that everyone can see what he’s always seen. Proud of this man who asked, “Are you sure?” when Patrick proposed, as if Patrick had ever had a choice, as if every road hadn’t always been leading him here. 

They show it in different ways, but David makes Patrick feel more loved and safe than he ever has. Patrick shows it through actions and leniency. He does things David’s way a little more, and he takes care of him by making him dinner or being the one to bring in the latest restock from the car at the store. But - contrary to David’s belief at times - David’s just as attentive. He’s always touching Patrick, for one. If Patrick’s anywhere near David, David’s touching him - rubbing his shoulders, or looping an arm through his elbow, or putting his hands on his waist. And David’s shockingly good at knowing the right thing to say when Patrick’s upset. He’s comforting and gentle and knows what to say to crack Patrick’s closed-off heart in two.

And Patrick knows that his relationship is steady. He doesn’t have to fear saying or doing the wrong thing and losing everything, like he did with Rachel. He and David mess up. Frequently, sometimes. Knowing that, at the end of the day, they’ll both come back to center and things will be alright makes him breathe easy. Makes him trust that he can be himself. Their marriage is full of vibrancy and teasing and emotions and more  _ life _ than Patrick ever thought one bond could hold, but it’s also rock solid. 

He loves David Rose for all that he is. He always will. And he knows David will love him right back. 

They aren’t numbers. They don’t have to add up. They’re complimentary colors. They fit together.

Patrick’s world has never been brighter.


End file.
